This invention relates in general to a ready appliance for immediate attachment to a bony part of the human anatomy, and more particularly to an adhesive base on the appliance having a cured layer of plastic material attached to the appliance and an uncured layer of substantially the same material to be cured at the time of mounting the appliance on a bony part of the human anatomy.
Heretofore, it has been known to provide prepasted orthodontic appliances (appliances having uncured adhesive on the mounting side) to orthodontists for immediate mounting on teeth, without requiring the orthodontist to apply adhesive, like the appliances disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,204,325 and 4,978,007. Such prepasted orthodontic appliances include a body provided with an uncured layer of chemically curable or light-curable adhesive on the mounting side which when cured attaches and secures the appliance to a tooth. It is well known that this type of an orthodontic appliance generally includes a metal mesh base to which the uncured layer of adhesive is applied prior to being sold to an orthodontist. And it is known that such an adhesive may be light-curable, chemically curable, or heat-curable, although light-curable adhesives like disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,007 patent are preferred.
An appliance with a cured polymer resin base has also been known for a ceramic orthodontic bracket, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,098,288 and 5,263,859, wherein the base facilitates removal of the bracket from the tooth without damaging the tooth. Such brackets have been sold by TP Orthodontics, Inc. of LaPorte, Ind., under the trademark Mxi. The bases of these brackets have been transparent and translucent as disclosed in copending applications Ser. No. 10120,052 filed Apr. 10, 2002, and Ser. No. 10/224,770 filed Aug. 21, 2002, which applications are assigned to TP Orthodontics, Inc., like the present application, and are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention is in providing a bilayer base for orthodontic appliances or orthopedic prosthetics to be ready for immediate mounting on the bony part of the human anatomy. The bilayer base includes a layer of cured plastic material of a suitable polymer resin and which is permanently mounted on the appliance. A further layer of uncured polymer resin is applied to the cured layer and the appliance is then suitably packaged and shipped to an orthodontic or orthopedic customer, who mounts the appliance onto a bony part of the human anatomy, cures the uncured layer of polymer resin, thereby defining an integral base that is cured onto the bony part of the human anatomy.
The polymer resin of the cured layer, as well as the uncured layer, is of substantially the same type and from the same family of resins and may be cured by light energy, chemical energy, or heat energy. Preferably the polymer resin is of a type that is light-curable, and with respect to this version, the cured layer serves to wick or transmit the curing light energy to the entire uncured layer, thereby enhancing the curing step to produce a strong bond. The cured layer of resin is of any suitable polymer resin such as an acrylic, an epoxy or an acrylic-based epoxy. For example, an orthodontic appliance, such as a bracket, that may be of metal, ceramic, or plastic would first be provided with a layer of the polymer resin which would be cured to define the first layer of a bilayer base. Secondly, an uncured layer of substantially the same polymer resin would be applied to the cured layer and the appliance with this bilayer base would be suitably packaged and ship ed to an orthodontic customer, who would mount the bracket on a tooth, after suitably preparing the tooth, and thereafter cure or polymerize the uncured layer of resin to effect attachment of the bracket to a tooth.
Similarly, the bilayer base can be used for orthopedic prosthesis assemblies such as where a hip, knee or other joint replacement is satisfied with the implantation of an orthopedic prosthesis. One part of the prosthesis would normally include a stem that would be inserted into a canal of a bone. According to the present invention, the stem would have the bilayer base of a suitable polymer resin and at the time of mounting on a bone the uncured layer of adhesive would be activated by light, chemical, or heat energy to attach the part to a bone of the human anatomy. As above explained with respect to the bilayer base on an orthodontic appliance having a light-cure resin, the cured layer serves as a light bar or conduit to allow the light energy to blanket the uncured layer.
Accordingly, the ready-made bilayer base of the present invention could be used in the dental or orthopedic field for attaching appliances to the bony structure of the body.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved bilayer base for appliances to be mounted on bony parts of the body including teeth and bones.
Another object of the present invention is to provide for an appliance with a bilayer base to be mounted on a bony part of the body wherein because of the materials of the base a greatly enhanced bonding structure will be established between the appliance and the bony part of the body.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a ready appliance for the convenience of the user such as an orthodontic bracket having a bilayer base with a cured layer and an uncured layer of polymer resin that not only enhances the bonding strength of the base to a bony part of the body but also facilitates the removal of the base at a time when the bracket is to be removed.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide an orthodontic appliance, in the form of a bracket, tube or button with a ready bilayer base that facilitates the handling of the appliance at a time when used by an orthodontist to mount on a tooth wherein the bilayer base includes a cured layer of polymer resin on the appliance body and an uncured layer of polymer resin over the cured layer and from the same family of resins as the cured layer, wherein the uncured layer would be cured at the time of mounting the appliance on a tooth and form an integral base for the appliance.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a bilayer base including a transparent or translucent cured layer and an uncured layer of transparent or translucent light-curable resin for an orthodontic or orthopedic appliance, wherein the cured layer functions to wick or transmit the curing light energy over the entire layer of uncured resin to produce curing of the entire uncured layer and a better bond between the appliance and the surfaces on which the appliance is to be attached.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts.